A consultation conference on foreign investment attraction and orientation, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, was held on December 21 in the northern province of Vinh Phuc, according to a report from the Vietnam News Agency.

Addressing the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Dung affirmed that attracting foreign investment is a consistent policy of the Vietnamese Party and State.

He asked localities nationwide to prepare the foundations for construction planning, combine the planning of industrial zones with urban planning, upgrade infrastructure, and step up connectivity in order to better attract foreign investment.

Localities should ensure the interests of local people when conducting site clearance for the construction of industrial zones while continuing to speed up administrative procedures reform, investing in human resources development, and ensuring security and order in foreign-invested areas, he added.

He also expressed a hope that foreign investors will strictly follow their commitments and Vietnamese law, pay attention to developing technology, and coordinate with Vietnamese enterprises to develop the country’s support industry.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vu Dai Thang said that after 30 years, the FDI sector has become an important part of the Vietnamese economy as a dynamically developing sector that has made significant contributions to the country’s socioeconomic development.

As at November, Vietnam had around 27,000 foreign-invested projects from 128 countries and territories with total registered capital of nearly $340 billion, of which $188.8 billion has been disbursed.

These projects primarily focus on industry, which accounts for 57 per cent of total registered capital. Foreign investors are also present in all cities and provinces, mainly in the northern and southern regions. Last year, the FDI sector contributed over $8 billion to the State budget, making up 17.1 per cent of the total collections, and created 3.6 million direct jobs and 5-6 million indirect jobs.

According to Mr. Tetsu Funayama, Head of the Business Forum Committee under the Japanese Business Association in Vietnam, 65 per cent of Japanese enterprises select Vietnam as the top destination in Southeast Asia, with most paying close attention to the country’s policies to develop the support industry.

He therefore suggested Vietnam adopt more policies to boost the support industry and facilitate Japanese investment in the country.

Japan and Vietnam should also expand cooperation in training Vietnamese experts, engineers, and technicians, to improve the quality of its human resources, he added.